Safe Even in Nightmares
by MegGyver
Summary: Lost moments between Bruce and Robin. Father/Son bonding: chapter 5: Wonder part 1. Bonus and job offer at end of chapter
1. Not So Simple

Standard disclaimer.

this is my first attempt at a challenge fic. this was written for the "Young Justice Fanfiction Challenge Forum" run by Grim  
Lullaby for the catagory of "the Bird boy and the bat"

i don't really know if this qualifies as fluff. if you think it does or does not, please let me know

* * *

Bruce Wayne was coming out of his office late that night . . .

It was a simple statement in and of itself. Of course the statement, as is everything in Wayne Manor, far more complicated than one would think. When one said "Bruce Wayne was coming out of his office late that night" what was meant was probably more along the lines of

Batman was coming out of the clock from the Batcave early that night.

Bruce had been finishing some final details from the recent Amazo incident. Payoffs for Robin's school, half-baked conspiracies regarding the trucks damage, along with a few other details involving the appearance of fifty-some robotic monkeys on two separate highways.

Just dealing with the little things.

It had been a hard day for everyone, physically and emotionally straining on everyone. Fortunately, his "Special Ops" team had proven themselves worthy of their new positions once again. Lost in his thoughts, Bruce almost didn't notice the still figure on the couch.

_Almost_, he was Batman after all.

Dick Grayson, his ward and partner lay on the large couch in the sitting room. A rather thick book lay on his chest, half out of his hand. He was breathing softly with only the faintest hint of a snore. His sun glasses were crooked and his hair was well down the hill on its way to a disaster (heavy on the dis).

Bruce smiled, _just a little_. Dick still lived at the manor, but he was spending more and more time at Mount Justice. And though Bruce would probably never say it aloud, at least not to Dick, he _may_ have mentioned _something_ to a certain butler.

He missed having the kid just being around.

Bruce picked the book out of robins hand. He glanced at the title, War and Peace. _That's awfully light reading for him, _He thought absently, before placing the book on the coffee table. Bruce then grabbed a blanket from one of the nearby chairs (Alfred usually left some out for just such occasions) and draped it over the thirteen year old's sleeping form.

Dick shifted but didn't awaken. Without thinking, Bruce pulled the sun glasses off the boy's face and put them next to War and Peace, before brushing some black hair out of Dick's face. He then took a seat on a nearby armchair, completely content to just see his "son" get some well deserved rest.

Seeing Robin like this, being able to care for a child like this, it made Bruce wonder for the umpteenth time that day what was going through Superman's thick Kryptonian skull.

He saw where Clark was coming from. To find out his DNA had been stolen had to have been bad enough, but discovering a mentally sixteen year old duplicate created to replace him. Well needless to say Bruce hoped he would never have to deal with that.

Bruce understood, he just didn't agree.

Despite the "How and Why" as he had so eloquently told Clark earlier, the child just needed some taking care of. Superboy was a good kid, all things considered. He knew Clark had had more than his share of "clone" problems, but he was still being too hard on the boy.

A small whimper caught his thoughts like a net. Bruce looked back to Dick, taking in his still sleeping body language. Flinching muscles, tense fists, soft mumbles, erratic eye movement beneath closed lids.

A nightmare, and a bad one by the looks of it.

Without hesitation, Bruce Wayne, playboy, billionaire, masked vigilante, terror to the criminals of Gotham City, gently placed a hand on his child's shoulder. He slowly rubbed comforting circles along the boy's back. Soft almost nonexistent words of comfort spilled from Bruce's lips as Dick's stormy dreams calmed.

After a lifetime of his own nightmares and almost six years of dealing with a child's night brought terrors. Bruce knew exactly how to help a child find his way when lost in his own mind.

Dick tensed for a moment, but did not stir further. Rather than pulling away from the unconscious world, he drifted back to the now safe streets of his subconscious. Even in his dreams, Richard Grayson knew that Batman would keep him safe from anything the waking world could throw at him.

Robin shifted closer to Bruce. His mind sought the comfort it was offered and his body accepted it gratefully. Still asleep Dick's nightmare shifted into a safe sea of capes and cowls. A small smile grazed the child's face as his father continued to protect him.

Unseen and unnoticed, as was sometimes his job, Alfred Pennyworth, loyal friend and butler to Bruce Wayne and the entire "Bat Clan," smiled at the sight of _his_ charges.

* * *

there it is. my first atempt at a challenge fic. i suppose it could go under like 4 of the chatagories but i think the main thing is bruce/dick bonding.

sorry if anyone thinks i was updating. i had to fix something in the begining.

AN and if anyone can find the tiny reference to batman beyond, then you totally deserver a million dollors, which i would give you if i had it.


	2. Unspoken

WOW that is the most reviews i have ever gotten for anything.

i have decided to continue with these. they will be onshots. i want to try and do things that have not been done before.

_**HALLWAYHALLWAYHALLWAYHALLWAY**_

The air was stale. A sense of despair wafted through the white halls like the smell of dust that hid in the cracks of the floor tiles.

The Gotham childcare center. A non profit group and a branch of Gotham Medical that helped the police house children that had either witnessed or were involved with crimes and had nowhere else to go.

Bruce silently scoffed as he walked down the hall. They should just call it what it was, an orphanage or even more accurate, a children's prison.

The children's psychologist for the center walking in front of him chittered nervously. "... the poor thing won't talk to anyone, of course losing both his parents in such a way, and right before his eyes no less, terrible really, he won't come out of his room and he barely eats a thing, just sits there broken, poor boy."

To almost anyone else the man would seem genuinely concerned, some might even think he understood the child he described.

Bruce Wayne wasn't anyone, he knew this man didn't really care. He was just putting on a show in hopes of gaining Bruces's sympathy and with it perhaps a generous donation to the center.

He had done his homework, and he knew what they wanted. There were many children as it was and the staff would not mind at all if the newest arrival receded into such a state that he would have to be sent to the psych ward of a hospital, or worse,

Arkham

His fists tightened at the mere thought of that horrid place. All the minds lost inside those dark halls. He had been in that dungeon unwillingly on more than one occasion and would not let a child experience the horrors that nightmare of a building could bring to one's mind.

The doctor checked the clipboard in his hands and stopped at room 228 "Well, here he is Mr. Wayne" as he pulled a set of keys from his pocket and cautiously unlocked the door.

A question came to Bruce, why would they need to lock the door if the boy never came out. The question rolled around his mind for a few seconds before Bruce answered the man "thank you" the doctor nodded and promptly walked away mumbling something about another patient.

Bruce made a mental not to report this place to Gordon on the grounds of child endangerment and probable licence fraud. No real doctor would be stupid enough to risk their job on a technicality like leaveing a child and a single man in his 30's untended.

__

Of course in this case, Bruce thought to himself, the child was safer with him than anyone else in this non-profit nightmare. And it would be much easier to talk to the boy in private.

Bruce opened the door and entered.

* * *

The room was darker than the halls. A small lamp sat bolted to a brown desk bolted to the wall and floor. The whole room was done over in various shades of dingy gray. And the hard wood floor creaked under his weight. The bed was nothing more than two mattresses set on top of each other. Bruce's eyes narrowed. He was definitely telling Gordon about this place. The room looked about as friendly as a room at Gotham penitentiary.

Bruce had deduced the boy's location milliseconds before the smallest noise from the corner confirmed his assumption Bruce stepped forward allowing the door to swing shut with a soft thud. He moved past the desk, noting the crumpled newspaper which lay on top.

****

"Night of Fun turns into Night of Terror"

__

Mary and Jonathan Grayson, trapeze artists died last evening in a tragic accident. . .

Bruce felt his anger flare. Tony Zucco had enough influence and money to keep the murders secret. Bruce couldn't do anything, but Batman would see to it that the truth got out.

He took another step and stopped dead in the water. The boy sat on the far side of the desk pressed into the corner, trying to disappear into the shadows. His legs were pulled to his chest and his arms wrapped around his knees. He was wearing simple gray sweat pants and a black tee shirt that looked much too big for him.

But the thing that stopped Bruce was the boy himself. Shaggy black hair fell into the young face, tear tracks stained a pale skin, mouth turned into an angry slit pulling against the unused smile lines adorning his face.

The boy's eyes were blue. A blue that would normally put the sky or sea to shame but were now clouded over with so many dark emotions they were blinded by a storm. A storm of anger, loneliness and sorrow.

For a moment Bruce lost all sense of reality. He had seen this boy before. He had seen the messy hair and tear stained face. He had seen those sad accusing eyes watching his every move, as if they were certain he would do something, anything that would cause their host more pain.

He had seen it all before. So many years ago, he had seen this boy

For a terrible second Bruce thought he was looking in a mirror. The almost _broken_ child before him was so familiar to Bruce, and it was nearly unbearable.

But that was why he was here wasn't it.

"Hello Dick" he spoke softly, not wanting to upset the boy. Of course Bruce was painfully aware how impossible that would probably be.

The boy looked only mildly surprised that Bruce knew his nick name, but he didn't respond beyond a small nod.

Bruce knelt to the boy's level "I'm Bruce Wayne" he chose to stay silent, knowing too many words too soon would only make the child uncomfortable or angry.

Dick continued to watch the man. Carefully. He wasn't totally sure why but he felt like he couldn't trust anyone right now. The doctor had said something about post traumatic stress being the cause, but that didn't seem to fit. His emotions were just so jumbled, but he could barely think strait. His brain and body were arguing so much about what he should do that he couldn't do anything.

He wanted to go back to the circus.

He wanted to curl up on his fold out in the trailer and cry.

He wanted to work on the new trapeze routine till his arms ached.

He wanted his mom and dad

He wanted them back holding him tightly and telling him that all the hurt would just go away.

He just wanted to go home.

The doctors, cops and nurses that had come and gone over the past few days in this infernal prison had all told him things like "I'm _so_ sorry for your loss" or "you'll be ok" or "it will get better." Dick had wanted to pummel each one. He had practically attacked the last three consolers that they had insisted he talk to. He figured that was why no one had come in here since, except to give him meals.

But this man, Bruce Wayne, he didn't say anything, he just waited. Waited for Dick to set the stage, instead of forcing him into the proverbial spotlight. It felt nice to have someone not trying to get him to "talk about your feelings".

Dick looked back at the man and was surprised at what he saw. It wasn't pity or superiority like he had expected from a rich business person. What he saw was compassion and true understanding. Dick could see it in those powerful eyes,

This man understood.

Someone else understood the pain inside him and that made dick feel better than he had in days.

Dick thought back to this morning when the doctor had said that _The Bruce Wayne _was coming to see him. The doc had spent a good ten minutes talking about the billionaire and how good this could turn out for the center.

Dick had expected some white collar stock market jockey looking for a quick way to the front page, Dick had imagined tomorrow's headlines would have read something like

****

"Local Millionaire offers condolences to orphaned circus acrobat"

Newspapers loved that kind of stuff.

But he never expected this quiet patient person before him. He relaxed, just a little, before forcing himself to speak for the first time since his parents had been killed.

"You . . . were at the . . . " he spoke softly, his throat was raw and weak from crying but he kept going "I . . . I, heard you . . . paid for . . . " he couldn't finish, the tears were starting again and he didn't want anyone to see him cry. "So . . . thanks . . . " he rubbed his eyes with his forearm trying to stop the sudden onslaught of emotions.

Bruce only nodded and gave a small smile. He knew the final word the boy could not say, funeral. He had decided to pay for what the boy obviously could not.

"Your welcome, I felt it was the least I could do" in a way Bruce felt responsible for the deaths of Mary and john Grayson. But guilt would not help the boy. "I know it doesn't make it better but, I am sorry for your loss"

"I know how hard this is for you for, and scared you must be right now . . . " he paused, his eyes glazing sightly and Dick could tell he was thinking about something painful. "I... lost my parents when I was just about your age, I understand what your going through better than anyone" dick wasn't sure what it was but that urge to jump into this man's arms and cry got stronger, Mr. Wayne continued.

"I was lucky enough to have people who cared about me to help me through that dark time," he stopped again, then a look, that reminded Dick a lot of his dad when he set his mind to something, came over Mr. Wayne's face, "and I think you deserve the same."

Dick stayed quiet for a few minutes with a thoughtful, but not dissaproving look on his face. Bruce didn't mind, he knew that it would take a while for the boy to open up to anyone. It was the boy seemed to approve of the idea, but more time was necessary for both of them.

They continued to sit quietly in a surprisingly comfortable silence. A few questions spilt from both and were answered easily enough. Until the doctor from before came and told Mr. Wayne that visiting time was nearly over and he would have to leave soon. Dick suddenly felt a fear clench his stomach. He didn't want Mr. Wayne to leave. He didn't want to be alone with a staff of people who didn't care or understand.

As Bruce stood up, feeling a sense of sudden loss and disappointment himself, he felt a small hand clench over his own. He looked down at the boy, Dick, his eyes had not cleared of the storm, but it had lessened greatly. The most prominent emotion now blanketing the sapphire gems were fear and desperation.

Dick's hand was shaking very badly and it brought his own desire to just adopt the boy now, to a great peak. But he knew it had to be Dick's decision. Bruce knelt back to dick's level, a soft smile came to his face. "If you want, I can come back tomorrow?" for a moment he was scared of the boy's rejection. As Dick looked to the side as if unsure.

Then Dick looked back to him, his eyes clearer and stronger than they had been throughout their entire meeting. There was only the slightest glassiness on their surface and the corners of his eyes but the smile on his face was enough to make Bruce abandon the last of his doubts about his desicion. Dick nodded, a small but sure movement confirming that he wanted Bruce to come back.

Bruce got up to his feet and headed to the door. Dick did not stop him this time. He was sure that Mr. Wayne would keep his unspoken promise.

* * *

Well that was long, but I thought it was good and worth putting up.

AN: I have an idea for another chapter, where they go to a charity millionaire ball. My only problem I have three different ways it can go, so I will let you, my readers decide.

Dick recently found out about Bruce being batmen. And while at a big fancy party, should dick meet

A) Oliver queen (no dick doesn't know who he is, but he may find out at the party)

B) lex Luthor (he tries to get dick to doubt himself and Bruce's care for him)

C) both (Oliver saves dick from a manipulating Luthor)

you decide! "Later Days!"


	3. Pearls

Pearls

Dick Grayson, one of the only kids in the world that made bill gates look homeless, was walking down the shopping district of Gotham city. Christmas dressed windows surrounded him on both sides. Groups of people young and old bustled in and out of shops ready to find the perfect gift for the person that they most cared for.

And that was exactly Dick's problem.

It wasn't that he didn't like this time of year. In fact he adored this season. It was the one time of the year when you didn't have to check your wallet and valuables every other minute. Once an hour was all you needed.

The problem also wasn't a shortage of funds to buy something. He had more than enough money. With an allowance of fifty bucks a week (when he followed orders that is), he had more than enough.

The problem was that it was very hard to buy presents for Bruce Wayne.

What was he supposed to get for a man who's only real desires were untouchable and therefor you couldn't purchase, and who wouldn't really care for anything that you could buy. Then there was the whole, "I-can-never-repay-you-for-taking-me-in-when-I-had-no-one" thing that Dick was constantly struggling with. What do you buy the person that gave you everything?

He was pulled from his mental dilemma by the sound of a giggling child. In front of him was a jewelry store. Coming out of the store window were a small boy and an older man who was obviously the boy's father. A woman walked to the two. The boy opened the bag and handed the woman a jeweled necklace. She smiled and kissed the boy on his forehead.

They walked off then…

Happy…

Together…

A full family.

Not bound by the confusing emotions of a ward and guardian relationship.

It hurt more than he would ever admit. Sometimes the thing he wished for more than anything was for an actual family relationship with Bruce. But deep down he knew that Bruce was just too scared to allow Dick to get that close to him.

The scene he had just witnessed was heartbreakingly familiar to the story that he had only once ever asked to hear. The story was told to him as a shaky retelling in response to his uncertain question during a late night thunderstorm. It was the first last and only time Dick had asked Bruce about the event that cost the man his parents. The retelling had been burned into his memory ever since.

Dick walked to the shop window. The man inside was replacing the diamond necklace that had just been purchased with a simple string of pearls. He wondered if the pearls that had cost Thomas and Martha Wayne their lives and Bruce his childhood had looked like these.

So innocent . . . so simple . . . so beautiful. . .

So dangerous.

To think the greatest detective in the world, and the greatest man Dick would ever know, were created by a simple string of ocean marbles. It boggled the mind to think that common thug whose eye had been caught by a necklace, could have changed the way the world worked so drastically.

Because of that string of pearls it was no longer impossible for a man without superpowers to save a city, the world, the universe, or the multiverse depending on how you looked at space and time.

Dick chuckled when another thought struck him.

That necklace had also changed the way his life would have ended up. If Bruce had not lost his parents, then it would have been more than likely that the man would have looked at a poor circus orphan with a sad gaze, and then just have walked away.

He walked into the shop. The store worker eyed him suspiciously (this was Gotham, Christmas season or not). Dick smiled, not bothered by the healthy suspicion. After all he was a thirteen year old that had just walked into an expensive jewelry store with no adult companion in sight.

"I was wondering about the necklace on display" Dick pulled out his wallet, the man relaxed almost instantly. He pulled the piece from its display case and brought it to the counter. The man chuckled "For a special someone, yes?" the man's slight Italian accent broke through as he spoke.

Dick chuckled, "Ya, something like that." He looked down at the jewelry piece again. A small bittersweet smile came to his face.

"How much?"

_**HALLWAY- **_

December 26th.

About three o'clock in the morning. Bruce sat in his room with a small box in his hands. The man would occasionally glance at the box's contents, but his attention was almost entirely transfixed on the small note that had accompanied the package.

_After having to go to three separate parties, four tree lightings and dealing with an attempt to destroy the holidays by Gotham's residence clown prince. The dynamic duo was finally given reprieve and been permitted to return home in order to actually enjoy the holiday. Dick had opened his gifts before they had left for the first party, so as soon as they got home the boy had promptly collapsed on his bed._

_When Bruce entered his own room he was slightly surprised to find a small present on his night stand._

The note was short, written in the small neat handwriting of his ward. Bruce smiled as he read it for the twenty-eighth time.

_Destroy and create,_

_ Go figure_

_Your family, Dick_

_**HALLWAY-**_

I am putting that chapter question onto the pole question thing on my profile because I have honestly lost track of who wants what. Thanks

I like reviews, but I like constructive criticism more.


	4. Hooked Up

**Hooked Up**

**DragonHall**

_A giant ampatheater was her stage. Her audience of thousands was watching her in breathless anticipation. The climax of Swan Lake came to its peak. She was the beautiful and graceful Odette. Dancing was like breathing to her. Grace and beauty spilled from her as she and her prince rose into the sky as freed spirits. The music grew and grew until the curtains finally closed. The audience rose to their feet as one. All so moved by her performance. As she accepted her solo curtain call roses rained down upon her. She bowed again and again, the crowd only grew louder. The curtain fell and she walked off stage as the noise of the crowd finally started to die down._

_"Great job Tina!", "that ending was phenomenal Tina!", "spectacular Tina!" the backstage hands and managers praised her as she walked passed them toward her manager. "Tina sweetheart, in this mornin's meeting I had Russia, Miami, and the big apple fighting over you. And that was before they heard that your next twenty performances got sold out." She nodded and smiled like she always did._

_She was escorted out through the backstage door, with three bodyguards. At least fifty people were yelling and screaming for her attention. Flashing lights and people begging for autographs. She continued straight faced toward the limo ten feet away. A small hand grabbed the back of her dress forcing her to stop. A small girl had managed to get past crowds and guards. A small book and a pen was in her hand. She smiled as she held them up to Tina. Tina smiled and knelt down to the girls level took the book and pen and wrote her name._

_Then the crowd stopped moving. A loud mechanical noise surrounded her as the people, the limo, the buildings, even the book in her hands faded to black. "No, No not yet" she grew frantic as she realized what was happening. "No, no please, Please!" then everything went black._

Her eyes opened as the wired crown snapped off her head. Tina fell flat on her stomach as the platform she had been lying on rotated straight up. She was surrounded by five other machines identical to the one she had been in, five other kids asleep inside them.

"Time to pay the piper my little door mouse" a scratchy voice raised her attention to the shadowed corners of the large warehouse. That was when the tenderness of her skin and the soreness of her muscles got worse.

She looked up at the man, and begged as hard as she could. "Please put me back in," tears started to form "it hurts so bad out here" her voice cracked as she wrapped her arms around herself. "Please!" desperate tears poured down her face.

The shadowed figure chuckled as her moved closer to the girl. "Of course I'll put you back in my dear." The false kindness in the voice was evident but the teen did not seem to notice as she smiled in relief.

"But your means of pay have run dry" he tossed several credit cards to the ground in front of the girl. She picked one up and stared at it. "You want back in?" he paused as the girls face twisted into an angry desperation. She nodded, numb to everything else in the world.

"Well then, you know what you have to do." He spoke with a terrifying certainty that the girl and the rest of his "customers" would do whatever it took to stay in their personal wonderlands.

**DragonHall**

Dick was walking through the halls of Gotham Academy, on his way to AP Physics when the commotion started. All the students around him started running down the hall. Shouts, yells, and even a few screams were coming from the direction that everyone was headed away from.

His bat instincts set off immediately as he ran against the river of student body. A small crowd of adults was gathered a few doors down. As he squirmed his way to the side of the crowd he could hear the school nurse shouting at everyone to get back, get back now! She was mostly ignored as she stepped closer to the young girl in the center of the crowd. He gasped slightly as he got a better look at her.

Tina Grosso had run away from home and school last week and he had been worried about her.

They had PE and English together. They had bonded over gymnastics and acrobatics. They often talked about what a bother that rich and busy parents could be. Her dad was a lawyer and her mom was pretty big time a painter. She was 16 and was training to be a ballerina. She was a little shy and insecure, but charming and kind. She was sweet, smart and talented.

But seeing her right now you would never know.

Tina was backed up against a set of lockers with her arms wrapped around what looked like a really expensive handbag. She pointed a small gun at the ceiling. Her whole body was shaking. Her breathing was shallow and heavy. Her eyes were bordering on manic, shifting back and forth a mile a minute. When she shifted her weight, she almost lost her balance. The gun she held was shaking so badly that Dick doubted that she would be able to pull the trigger, let alone fire and aim the thing. Tina looked like she was either going to bolt or pass out any second.

She was surrounded by two security men, the principle and the nurse, all trying to reassure her that nothing would happen to her if she just gave back the bag, and put down the gun. Tina shook her head and tightened her grip on the bag. But the simple action just made her headache worse; she took a step forward trying to get balance. But then it all went blurry and dark. She felt her mouth moving and words coming out but she was unconscious before she could understand what she had said.

Tina fell to the floor passed out. The gun fell from her hand. The nurse rushed to her, put a hand on the girls forehead and then her neck. "Call the hospital right now, she's on fire and barely breathing!" she yelled at the security guard who was already on his radio.

Dick had melted into the background before anyone even knew he had been there. He could tell that the faculty hadn't registered what Tina had said but he did. And he knew it meant trouble. One word that changed this whole thing from a student robbery and near shooting at school to something about a hundred times worse.

That one word, was Wonderland

**DragonHall**

After the incident at school, he was picked up by Bruce and Alfred who had gotten the emergency call at the Manor once Tina had been handed over to the paramedics. Dick relayed what he had seen and what Tina had said before she passed out. "Wonderland" could only mean one thing,Jervis Tetch. Also known as the Mad Hatter.

As soon as they got home they started work. Dick hacked into the hospital and found out that Tina had slipped into a coma, her brain had been drowning in a hormone called Serotonin. And Tina was not the first. Several other teenagers had been found on the streets, most of them runaways like Tina.

Dick hacked into her personal card accounts and found that all three had been drained over the past week. They couldn't track any of the recent big transactions that had sucked her cards dry but they did find where she had been spending all her money before that.

An arcade named the Rabbit Hole.

**DragonHall**

The Rabbit Hole was busy, colorful, bright and really, really loud.

It was really cool.

Dick was very glad he had managed to convince Bruce that he would stick out if he came into the arcade. He had an earpiece and microphone so batman could hear everything Dick heard from two miles in the air in the batwing.

Batman was not so glad that Dick had convinced him to let the kid go alone. He didn't like not being there in case the boy was in trouble. Batman knew Robin could handle himself, but Bruce Wayne always had trouble accepting that.

After a few hours of talking to the staff, a few regulars and several other kids, Batman had gotten a call from the league, an emergency. "Go ahead, I'll be fine" Robin had insisted he would get home by himself. So batman went to help the league stop Ares from destroying Greece.

**DragonHall**

As Dick had been leaving the Rabbit Hole an older kid, maybe sixteen, came up to him, he recognized the guy from Gotham academy, a junior. He told Dick that there was this new place in a warehouse where this new virtual reality system was the latest thing. When the guy said that people were calling it Wonderland because the systems were so realistic Dick knew he had hit the jackpot.

When Dick had tried to make a reason that he needed to call home to tell them where he was going, the guy said that, that wouldn't work and had started to walk away. Dick knew that he couldn't lose this lead. He grabbed the guys arm and told him that he didn't have to call his parents.

That seemed to chill the guy out. He said that this new system was totally worth the trouble. So he led Dick to the warehouse district and "Wonderland."

**DragonHall**

Bruce was as close to panic as Batman could get. He mentally berated himself over and over again. _How could you just leave him alone? How could you leave him when Mad Hatter was on the lose targeting his next victims? _

He had gotten back from helping the league the next morning, only to find that Dick had never made it home. He had rushed back to the arcade looking for some sign of his young ward. He had found nothing. He scoured the neighbor trying to find his charge but had no luck.

He grew angrier and more desperate as time went on. He also grew more afraid, afraid that something terrible would happen to his son, and he would not be able to save him.

**DragonHall**

_The crowd of the big top roared as they flew through the air. Gasps of delight and screams of approval drowned out all other noise, except for the loud grand voice of the ring master._

_"Ladies and gentlemen! The Flying Graysons!"_

_He shifted his weight to reach his arms out to his mother's. As she released her own beam and grabbed his hands his father came from behind him and grabbed her legs. He let go then, he flew through air. He loved flying, it was the best feeling in the world._

_Dad let mom go as she grabbed onto another trapeze beam. One final flip and she swung herself to the platform. Dad followed soon after. He waited just a second longer until he pulled off the quadruple flip. The move that in the whole world, only the flying Graysons could perform. _

_The crowd exploded in applause. Rising from their seats, clapping and screaming. He landed on the finishing platform. His parents each placed a hand on his shoulders, all three of them waved to the crowd._

_Everything was perfect. The crowd cheering, the spotlight shining, him flying with his parents by his side, it was all so perfect. It was everything Dick Grayson had ever wanted._

The new boy was smiling in his sleep. His hands twitched as his eyelids flickered, the little door mouse was deeply under now. He smiled crookedly as he checked over the mouse's vitals at his master control station.

Holding steady. He had decided to raise the serotonin levels on this little door mouse. He could not afford to lose this one. His biggest catch yet, Richard Grayson. Such a fortunate turn of events. Most of his customers so far were of the runaway variety. Most resorting to pick pocketing or minor theft to pay for their time in his fantastical Wonderland.

But not this little door mouse no, this mouse was different. The ward of the great and good white knight. The king of Gotham, that's what Bruce Wayne was.

The child of Bruce Wayne himself. Wayne had thousands of dollars just lying around that manor of his in jewels, art and cash. The mouse was already paying with a personal credit account that Wayne had set up for him.

This little door mouse was the big fish, the big catch, and the big payday. He checked the settings again. He smiled. It wouldn't hurt to turn the levels up just a bit more. He chuckled at the image his twisted mind was created.

The White King's own little Door Mouse would beg the Mad Hatter for more journeys through the looking glass.

**DragonHall**

Alfred was on the other side of the house, dusting the Ming vase collection that had once belonged to Martha Wayne. Batman would be on patrol downtown. Now was his best chance.

The safe in Bruce's office had been easy to open. Bruce always used the same combination.

9-1-9-3-9

It was mostly business documents. But there was also cash, lots of cash. That was what he needed.

His backpack was near stuffed but he still needed more. He needed as much as he could carry. The more he paid, the more time he got in the machine. His head was killing him, and his vision went blurry for a minute. He put a hand on the wall until the black edges on his vision left him. He shook the cobwebs from his head. He'd be fine once he went back. Once he was back in the machine, once he was back with his parents he would be fine.

He reached back into the safe to grab a last few stacks of cash. His ears buzzed and his head throbbed. Every muscle in his body ached and twitched. But he didn't care about that. He didn't care about anything right now. He just wanted, needed to get back to Mad Hatter's machine. He zipped up the back pack, and turned around.

"Dick," he froze, _what was he doing back so soon? _"What do you think you're doing?" There was anger in Bruce's voice. The deep resonating vibrato that let Dick know exactly who he was dealing with. _This is Batman, not Bruce._

Batman was half hidden in shadow. Dick had seen Batman angry before but had never been on the receiving end of that anger. Frustration, disappointment and annoyance sure, but never real anger. For a second he could feel fear creeping up on him.

Then the still rational part of him realized that Bruce would never hurt him, he had nothing to fear. With this realization, he felt his own anger rising. How dare Bruce interfere with this! How dare Bruce keep him from his parents?

"Just leave me alone, you wouldn't understand!" Dick pushed his way past the Dark Knight. His backpack over one shoulder, his footsteps were shaky but Dick didn't seem to care as he headed toward the door. _What had the Mad Hatter done to his son? _Batman took a few slow steps toward his ward.

"I _understand_ that Mad Hatter's has gotten you addicted to his tech." Dick stopped, he was tense, on guard and angry. "Now you're not only stealing for him, but your stealing from me." Dick turned to him, his entire body stiff and rigid. The boy was in full fight or flight mode, but judging the look on his face, the boy was leaning toward fight.

"I don't care" there was a sadness in his voice that mad Batman stop. Dick relaxed slightly as he turned away from Bruce. Anger and guilt twisted his face. "You don't know what it's like in there Bruce, when I'm inside-" tears appeared at the corners of his eyes, "I'm back at the circus," Dick swallowed heavily. Desperation thick in his voice, he was trying to get Bruce to understand. He suddenly knew what Dick would say next.

"My parents are alive in there Bruce." Dick's voice broke at the same time the tears started to stream down his face "and the second I came out," he rubbed his arms in discomfort, "my whole body hurt for more." The angry desperation came back a second later "I just want to get back inside."

Dick was probably the most level headed, sound minded teenager that Bruce Wayne had ever met. But right now he was anything but. Dick had to know how insane he was acting. Dick had to realize that he was going against everything he believed in. He had to realize that the parents that he was so desperate to get back to were not his parents.

"It's an addiction," he stepped behind Dick. "He's altered your brain chemistry." Bruce tried to get Dick to come to his senses. He would not lose his son to a fantasy world created by a madman. Bruce placed a supportive hand on the boy's shoulder. "Let me help you" his voice softened. It was the voice that Batman only ever used with Robin. The voice showed the warm understanding love that the father had for his son.

For a second Dick relaxed under his gloved hand. Then the boy snapped around, shoving the comforting hand away. "You want to help me?" Dick's body went rigid. He knew his partner too well not to recognize the boy's fighting stance. Batman saw the attack coming before Dick even knew what he was going to do. "Then leave me ALONE!" Dick leapt at him, his fist clenched to make a strong blow to the chest.

Batman twisted out of the way. He grabbed the Dick's arm and twisted it back. Dick struggled as Batman pulled a small tranquilizer gun from his belt. The liquid was pushed into Dick's system before he knew what had happened.

Dick stared at the injector in his shoulder for a moment, a dumbfounded look on his face. Then he looked into Batman's face. The look of betrayal on his son's face tore at Bruce's heart. The sadness there was almost too much to bear.

Then Dick's eyelids started to fall. A tired moan escaped him as he fought the sedative. Dick's knees went first. He fell forward into Batman's chest. He was asleep before he even hit the strong arms of his mentor.

Bruce took a moment to examine his sleeping partner's face. Calm for the first time since Bruce had found him. Absently he brushed a thick strand of hair from the boy's face. Anger at what had been done to his son burned through him. Jervis Tetch would pay dearly for what he had done.

The Dark Knight lifted the boy into his arms, partially wrapping the child in his dark cape.

_I will save you Dick, I promise._

**DragonHall**

Batman brought his charge to the Batcave, taking extra care with the sleeping boy. Several minutes later Dick woke up. Groggy, but at least he was conscious. He lay on one of the medical tables, still weak from the sedatives. A simple blanket was wrapped around his shivering body. Batman had removed his cowl, becoming Bruce Wayne. He pulled the light red fabric to the boy's neck. "How are you feeling?"

Dick groaned and curled into a loose ball, with his back to Batman. "Still achy, and my head is killing me." He sighed, "I guess I was acting really crazy back there," regret was heavy in his quiet voice

A small smile came to Bruce's face. "You, weren't yourself." He placed a hand on Dick's shoulder for a minute before walking to the computer. He pressed a series of buttons. The channel to the upstairs intercom system opened on the holo-screens. Alfred's voice came over the speaker, inquiring about "Master Dick's" wellbeing.

"He's all right now Alfred" the butler was always so worried about the both of them. It warmed him in a way that only the British man could. "Once he's back on his feet we'll head to Mad Hatter's lair and- Ugh!" The attack had been unexpected, and Bruce's head was unprotected without his cowl. The darkness came and he fell to the ground.

The clang of metal hitting stone echoed through the cave. The heavy medical tray now lay beside his unconscious mentor. Bruce didn't understand, he had to go back, he had to get back to his parents. Dick looked at the holo-screens. Alfred's worried voice heard through the surrounding speakers and seen through the single line jumping across the screen. Dick pressed the answer button.

"Alfred" the man heard the young master answer his worried calls. "When he wakes up tell him I'm sorry." The line went quiet again, there seemed to be nothing more to be said. Alfred Pennyworth ran through the halls of Wayne Manor. Hoping that Master Bruce would be able to save the young master.

He could not imagine what would happen to Master Bruce if he couldn't. Alfred was sure that the Wayne heir would never be able to survive losing his son.

**DragonHall**

The warehouse was dark and gritty. Then again so was most of Gotham. The old computer factory had been abandoned years ago. However the massive amounts of electricity currently running through the building proved that it was no longer unoccupied. He would find the Mad Hatter here, of that he was certain

He had woken up on the floor of the Batcave with a splitting headache and a worried Alfred hovering over him. Dick was nowhere to be found, along with his backpack full of money.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how he looked at it, Dick wasn't being his usual meticulous and well planned out self. Dick had taken his Rcycle to the warehouse district. After tracking the bike, Batman had checked the power grid. This warehouse's electric system was lit up like a roman candle. This was where he would find Mad Hatter. This was where he would find Dick.

And he did find him. But it almost wasn't worth seeing him like this.

A dozen machines standing in a large circle surrounded him but they were all offline and empty, but they sat there waiting to enslave another defenseless child. Tables parallel to the floor, metal clamps open in wait for their next victims. Steel soldiers waiting for orders to control and enslave. A circled command station stood in the center of the warehouse surrounded by the machines. Batman took all this in, but his focus was on one thing and one thing only.

His son was strapped to a metal table, like a frog waiting to be dissected. The table set at a seventy degree angle. Wired clamps held tight to his hands, ankles and his forehead. His fists opened and closed in some unseen action. His eyes darted back and forth beneath his shut lids. A smile was spread across his face. A carefree grin, that Dick so rarely let free. It broke his heart to see Dick like this. To see his son used like this, it disgusted him. _Never again._

Batman came to the command desk, the set up was fairly simple, deactivated the machine, then went to his child.

The table rotated forward slowly till it stopped at a straight up position. The clamps snapped open with an angry clap. Strikes of electricity fizzled around the wired crown as it slowly unclasped. Electronic wiring lined the inner surface of the clamps. The machine buzzed and groaned as it stopped its diabolical purpose.

Dick groaned softly as he fell forward and into Batman's waiting arms. He gently laid the boy on the floor. Bruce sat at his side as he stroked Dick's face as he fought to wake up. Dick moaned again as he shook his head. Batman couldn't help worry, he had seen the raised levels on the monitors compared to the other machines. The Mad Hatter had targeted Dick specifically, drugged him and used the love of his dead parents in order to manipulate him.

It made Batman sick to his stomach. This would stop tonight, no matter what.

Dick's eyes opened slowly, flickering up and down until they were able to focus on the person above him. Dick sat up quickly "what are you doing here?" there was a hostile undertone to the question, and a suspicious edge to his body language.

Batman reached for Dick's arm "it's going to be all right Dick." He wanted to comfort the boy, but the reaction he got was the exact opposite.

"Ya!" he slapped Batman's arm away, "when you get out of my life!" There was true hatred in his words. They pained him far more than Batman would ever admit. "This is what I want! You have no right to stop me!" Dick pushed himself away from Batman and tried to get to his feet, but lost his balance almost instantly. His breathing was ragged and heavy even after so little exertion.

_How can he not see what was happening to him?_

He stood a few feet behind his son, watching him struggle to walk when the boy had been raised in great acrobatic feats. "You can't live in a dream Dick." His frustration, fear, and worry were starting to break through his usually stoic persona.

"Why not?!" Dick finally managed to get to his feet, he turned to face the Dark Knight with a rage that he had not displayed since he had faced his parents killer. Batman supposed that, in some twisted way, right now, Dick saw him in the same light. Dick saw him as the person keeping him away from his parents

"What is _so_ great about my reality?!"Dick's body shook in rage and exhaustion. His hand rose to his chest to emphasize his point. _There was nothing out here for him except more pain._

Batman swallowed the sting of his son's words. "None of what you see or feel in there is real" a quiet calm tinted with anger painted his voice. "Your parents are dead, and no matter how much you want them to be real, they aren't."

_The grief and anger that they both shared was real._

_The pain they both knew so well was real._

_The Love that they had for each other was…_

"And we both know that deep down, this isn't what you want." At that moment pain exploded from his back. The Mad Hatter was behind him, a can held like a stabbed sword. The metal head of the rabbit cane top was stabbing Batman's back. The ears of the rabbit acting as the prongs of a cattle prod. Electricity was grabbing onto him and streaming across and through his armored body.

Dick watched from a few feet away, the anger he felt was still too fresh to let him feel fear of regret. "Why couldn't you just let me have this?!" his voice barely carried over the sizzle of electricity and the pained cries of batman.

Mad Hatter pulled his weapon away. Batman fell to the floor in a quaking heap. "Yes Batman. Why couldn't you let him have his Wonderland?" He held his cane below the topper and walked calmly past the little dormouse toward the _mighty_ Batman. "Who made you the dream police?" Batman was on his knees trying to rise. _Well we can't have that now can we? _He struck the caped crusader across the face with his cane. Batman fell to the floor, dazed.

Dick watched as Mad Hatter closed the distance between himself and Batman. Mad Hatter pulled something from his ratty green coat. It was another metal crown.

_His body ached._

His anger had finally died, but nowhe could feel pain, and the guilt coming full force. His emotions were at war.

_His head throbbed. _

Sadness and fear started to push on him from all sides. Dick rubbed his arms. It felt like his blood burned under his skin.

_He could barely breathe._

Dick felt himself step up to the machine, but it was like he was watching his body from the outside. He pressed the activation button. The machine hummed to life, happy that its victim had returned.

_He wanted to see his parents, he wanted to be with them. To be happy with them again._

He turned around. Mad Hatter was approaching the wounded Batman. Something glinted in the greasy white gloves. He hesitated.

"Just don't kill him." Dick's voice shook, guilty and scared, but loud enough to be heard. "He won't come back, I'm-" he swallowed the lump in his throat, "I'm sure of it."

All three of them could tell that he didn't believe his own words.

Mad Hatter turned to the door mouse. He was angry at the interference, "this is none of your concern." then he remembered who this mouse was. "Go on now, your Wonderland awaits you" the sweet coax of a promise in his voice.

Dick hesitated another moment, then stepped onto the machine.

Which left Batman at the mercy of the Mad Hatter.

Mad Hatter forced the metal band on Batman's head. The mad man had to hold the crown in place when his victim started thrashing and struggling. This dream crown was different. It didn't bring out the most fond dream no, it ripped dreams to shreds. It brought out the worst of nightmares and the most horrid memories of the wearer. The Hatter had been saving this for a long time now.

The massive electric currents from the crown were only part of the pain he felt. Memory after memory, image after image, his fears and his nightmares played out before his eyes. Repeating over and over again. His worst memories and his worst fears.

His parents dying - Being unable to save Harvey Dent from the explosion that had taken the remainder of his sanity – Fighting the Joker – Alfred leaving him alone - Dick's parents falling to their deaths - Clark being shot with the kryptonite bullet His parents dying – Robin falling in battle - Gordon getting shot- Fighting the Joker – Alfred leaving him alone - Dick's parents falling to their deaths - Robin getting tortured and beaten by Two-face – His parents dying - Fighting the Joker – Robin falling in battle - Clark being shot with the kryptonite bullet – Alfred leaving him alone - Fighting the Joker – being unable to save Harvey Dent from the explosion that had taken the remainder of his sanity - His parents dying - Gordon getting shot – Robin falling in battle -

The visions flashed again and again, they wouldn't stop. Dick's face appeared again and again, as did Alfred's, but the dark memories and hidden fears were quickly decimating his defenses. Pain on multiple levels was slowly eating away at his mind, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Then suddenly, Dick was there. He rammed the Hatter away from Batman with surprising force. The metal crown fell to the ground, cracked and useless. The Hatter regained his balance and snarled at the boy. But before he could retaliate Dick grabbed the light fixture above the control terminal and used it to swing his legs straight into the Hatter's chest. The man fell backwards and smashed into his own control deck. Electricity filled the air as he was forced against the panels under Dick's weight.

After a moment the electricity failed. The controls shorted and fizzled out. Mad Hatter went limp, unconscious, but alive.

Dick jumped onto the floor. He stood and stared at the unconscious man for a moment. Batman had regained his senses and watched the boy as he rose to his feet.

Dick lifted his hands and stared at them. The anger melted off Dick's face as an absolute despair took its place. His hands went to the sides of his head and his knees hit the floor. He gripped his hair so tightly, he was almost pulling it out. His head shook back and forth over and over in a devastating denial. Heavy sobs resonated from his chest. His breathing was short ragged. His were eyes glassy and dazed.

The weight of heavy warm material falling across his shoulders snapped him out of his distraught stupor. Dick turned his head around. Black, metal and leather woven together. _Batman's cape,_ his dazed mind registered. He risked looking behind him.

Batman was knelt on one knee just behind him, his cape absent but the cowl still in place. His face was calm, but there was sadness and relief. There was also the one thing that Dick couldn't face, the thing he didn't deserve,

Forgiveness

A choked sob escaped him as he threw himself at his mentor's chest. Tears burned his eyes, his chest tightened. He pressed his face into Bruce's collar bone and wrapped his arms around Bruce's neck.

_That's who this was, Bruce, not Batman._

Bruce held his son. One hand on his back and the other tangled through the boy's dark hair, stroking the sweaty locks in effort to comfort the child. Bruce could see the sweat and tears merge together on Dick's face and neck. His breathing became more and more labored. His skin was on fire and his muscles twitched uncontrollably.

Dick had resisted the temptation of the machine, but his body was starting to suffer from the withdrawal. All Bruce could do right now was try to comfort his son. Until he wept himself into exhaustion, and into the bliss of unconsciousness.

He spoke softly as he held the boy closer. "It's all right now Dick, you're going to be all right."

**DragonHall**

I decided to just put the two parts together.

**I also changed my profile name, so make a note of that.**

I don't own anything

Yes I did what you think I did with Batman Beyond

Please Review! I appreciate comments and criticisms

Hope you enjoy.


	5. Wonder: PLUS Season 3 info

**Authors Note:** So I'm using the Justice League version of Hippolyta and the Wonder Woman 2009 versions of Artemis, Alexa and Persephone.

GAME! : FIND THE PERCY JACKSON REFERENCE!

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR SHOUT OUT! : This story is shorter than it looks but I think you will like the reason. See Bottom of page to see plan for a season 3 story. Looking for assistance, see details at end of chapter!**

_**SAFEEVENINNIGHTMARES**_

Diana, Princess of Themyscira, was excited this day.

This was a rare thing for Diana, Princess of Themyscira. Due to the unfortunate fact that Diana, Princess of Themyscira, was bored most days.

One would think that being the immortal princess of an eternal race of warrior women on an enchanted island would lead to a more interesting life.

But, this was not the case for Diana.

Over the previous 25 years Diana had sparred with every willing Amazon warrior, swam every inch of ocean in the ten miles surrounding their shores and had explored every nook and cranny that the eternally beautiful island had to offer.

All of these great accomplishments had been accomplished by the time she had turned 18. Now 7 years of perpetual boredom later, and the most exciting thing she had to look forward to, was her daily ride along the shore.

This winter day however was different. She rode Helen, her mighty blonde mare, along the white shores of Themyscira. The only noticeable difference between this particular ride and most of her perimeter patrols, was the large amount of flotsam that had washed onto the shore during the night.

A great storm that had passed by the island the previous night. Because of the islands blessed nature, the storm had passed quickly. But the remnants of the storm had washed back toward the isolated paradise island.

This almost never happened. Maybe once every few years, and it was one of the only events that gave Diana the trill of excitement that she almost never got. For when a storm from off the island brought storm debris onto the island, that meant that there might be treasures to be found, treasures from the most mysterious world.

The world of _Man_

When storms were strong enough to bring refuse and driftwood onto the Themysciran shores it almost always brought objects from Man's World. Diana had discovered the phenomenon when she was ten, she had discovered several objects along the shores, and had been fascinated with them. She had told her mother about the things that she had found. Hippolyta had been angry at first and had lectured Diana about the evils of man and the dangers of Man's World. But Hippolyta had allowed her to keep the objects in order to stay Diana's curiosity.

Diana kept everything that she found in a chest in her room. Over the years she had accumulated quite the collection of about two dozen objects of various sizes and shapes. Most seemed to be broken or damaged in some way or another, but she was still fascinated by them. She took care to clean them as best she could and try and figure out what their purpose may have been. She had tried asking a few of the other Amazons but had had no luck. Most would laugh in her face about her pointless inquires, while the few women that would help her had no idea what the items were.

That was where she was now, continuing her exciting if pointless collection. She searched the beaches for new treasures as she tried to understand the strange and mysterious world that no one would tell her anything about. Her curiosity never sated or explored, only reignited whenever a new discovery was swept onto the beach.

Her musings over her own oddness was interrupted when Helen suddenly reared back in alarm. Diana gripped the reins and pulled her mount back.

"Whoa Helen, Whoa, easy girl" she stroked the neck of her stead as she whispered comfort to the startled animal. "What's got you so . . ." her question trailed off as she looked down at the sandy ground.

It took her several moments to process exactly what she was looking at. She had never seen a real one before, only the pictures in ancient scrolls and the old and cracked amphoras that were displayed at the museum in the city. This was a sight unlike any she had ever seen.

Diana dismounted Helen with a comforting pat on her neck. All without taking her eyes off the _thing _that lay sprawled among the seaweed several feet in front of her. Unconscious and unmoving, but alive if the labored rising and falling motion of its chest was any indication.

She took a step forward, slowly. Much slower than she meant to. Part of her wanted to run toward it at top speed and examine it more closely. While another part of her wanted to fly back to the palace and scream about her terrifying find to her mother. But as if on their own accord, her feet took another slow step forward.

After several more shaky steps she was right next to it. By this point she had mostly recovered from the initial shock, and her rational mind was returning to her. Diana bent down onto her knees and reached toward it. She slowly pushed and pulled the seaweed from its body and turned it from his side to his back.

Looking at him up close, _for it was in fact, a him_, the remaining part of her mind that had still been screaming denials at her was soundly silenced.

The being lying unconscious at her knees was a _Man._

Although she wasn't sure that was the right term for the person in front of her. He was small, very small. Not just short but small in build and weight. She wasn't positive, but she was pretty sure that the Man before her was a child. Given the fact that the only child Diana had ever seen had been herself, she had absolutely no experience in determining age.

The boy, _since he was,_ coughed wetly, and Diana's instincts kicked in. Without thinking about it she placed her hands on his small, _so very small, _chest and made several compressions. She then tilted his head back gave him her own breath. During the second repetition of her actions the boy coughed hard and painfully, but much stronger than before. He turned onto his side and spit up a large amount of water from his lungs.

Diana released a breath that she had not realized she was holding. She watched as he continued to breathe hard in between the removal of water from his lungs. After a few minutes he seemed to have expunged as much liquid as he could manage. He curled into a ball and shivered in between his labored breathing.

She took the time to look at him more closely. His head was covered in night black hair. Cut short, with bangs that seemed just short enough to stay out of his eyes. His skin was a very light olive hue, but reddened along part of his face and neck, _sunburn due to exposure_, she thought absently. His clothing was like nothing she had ever seen. Dark loose leggings, a kind of cloak that covered his arms but only went to his waist of the same color, and a white shirt that had buttons up the middle. His feet were bare, most likely his shoes had been kicked off when he came to be in the water.

She would have examined him further but the child suddenly tensed, she stopped her visual exploration of his person. She was further distracted by the pained whining noises that came from him.

Something inside of her tightened painfully when she heard small sobs coming from the boy. Diana's body once again acted without her permission and she pulled the child into her arms. She brought his head to her chest and stroked his raven hair with one hand and rubbed his shaking back with her other hand. When she realized what she was doing. Diana was reminded of her mother, and how Hippolyta would do the same thing for Diana when she had been young and frightened by something.

The boy seemed to settle after a few more minutes. He mumbled something that she couldn't quite hear. She gently turned his head to face her. Tear tracks stained his half sunburned face. His eyes fluttered under thick lashes and opened slowly. Lovely ocean deep blue eyes stared up at her.

She could see the pain in his eyes and feel fever in his skin. His gaze was slightly vacant. She could tell that he looked at her with only partially seeing her. This boy was sick and hurting.

That same something inside her clenched again at that thought. She had to get this boy back to her mother and the healers. But she paused when she thought about the reactions of her sisters. The history of the Amazons and Man was a long, complicated and bloody one. How would her sisters, not to mention her own mother react when they discovered that a Man, _boy she thought absently, _had somehow come to be on Themys-

"Momma?" the voice was confused and weak, but held a small desperate hope that almost made her wince. She looked back into the cherub face of the child. His brows nit together in concentration, trying to clearly see her. She didn't know what to do so she did nothing for an entire minute before his face loosened. She could see the realization on his face.

"No… you're not… not her… she's… gone." His voice was thick with resignation as his body loosened. Sleep was starting to take him. His body was shutting down to rest as the tears finally stopped falling from his eyes.

That mysterious "instinct" as Diana was now starting to think of it snapped. She lifted the boy off her lap and into her arms. One hand under his knees, the other stretched behind his back so her hand rested on his forearm. To her enhanced strength, he weighed less than nothing. His head fell back into her chest and he unconsciously leaned into her warmth, his body still shivered despite the warm air of the island.

She glanced back toward Helen, but the horse had made her way inland and was contentedly grazing under a tree. Diana decided that she would send someone for the horse later. The ride would be much to bumpy for the child anyway.

Diana looked into the boy's face once more before she lifted them both into the sky.

_**SAFEEVENINNIGHTMARES**_

Queen Hippolyta walked through the open halls of the palace. Artemis followed on her right, while Artemis' younger sister Alexa, kept step behind her sister, Alexa's nose firmly immersed in the book in her hands.

"How goes Diana's training Artemis?" The queen often asked about her daughter. Artemis sometimes thought that in her queen's mind, Diana's wellbeing took precedence over anything else. "Her training goes just as well as when you asked me yesterday, my queen." Artemis chuckled "she is the best warrior on the island, and I haven't bested her in months".

The powers of the princess gave her an advantage yes, but Diana had told Artemis time and time again that she didn't want her abilities to be a crutch. As such, Diana often trained without using her powers. In order for her to train in combat as any of her sisters would. But her grace and strength gave her natural talent in the art of combat. Even without her powers the princess could best any warrior on the island.

The queen nodded, a small prideful smile pulled at her lips. She was quiet for a moment longer before speaking. "And how are her studies, Alexa?" the queen waited for an answer, but none came. The queen and Artemis stopped and turned back to their silent companion. Alexa had stopped walking several feet behind her companions. The low sunlight streaming onto the floor interrupted only by the columns that supported the ceiling. Alexa was staring out toward the ocean, past the city below and into the sky above the jungle canopy. Her book lowered to her side, as her widened in a shocked daze.

"Alexa? What is it" Artemis briskly jogged back to her sister. Alexa did not respond. Artemis followed her sister's line of site. It took her a moment, _Alexa had always had sharper eyes than I do, yet she insists on wasting them on her books instead of something useful like archery_, but she could eventually make out the flying form of Diana. Out of the corner of her eye she could see her queen also looking out toward her daughter.

Diana had gone out earlier to scout the beach after the storm. She had left on horseback, but now was flying back, at high speed no less. Diana did would not take a horse out and leave it unattended to fly back to the palace, _not without a good reason._

Diana was closer now, and Artemis could see her much more clearly. Artemis could now see what had caused her sister such distress. The princess was holding something, _no someone._ And, the someone, whoever it was, was not an Amazon.

The queen was moving seconds before Artemis herself started to run. They both ran. A moment later she could hear Alexa's soft steps running after them. But it did not matter, the only thing that mattered was the safety of the Amazons. Artemis ran past her queen. She ran to the princess and the creature that the young girl had brought to the palace.

_**SAFEEVENINNIGHTMARES**_

Artemis entered the medical wing minutes after Diana had arrived. She had been lowering to boy onto the cot when Artemis came rushing in. "What is the meaning of this?!" she all but shouted. Artemis stomped into the room and pointed an accusing finger at the sleeping boy. "How did this filthy _Man _come to be on our island!?" Diana felt her face scowl and her hands clench at this, but Artemis continued, not noticing. "And why have you brought it to the palace?!"

Diana stood suddenly, _moving between the boy and Artemis' line of site, she would realize later._ She was about to speak, to yell, and demand Artemis leave so not to disturb the boy. When her mother's ever calm and commanding voice spoke first.

"That is quite enough, Artemis" her mother entered the room at a steady pace. Her blonde hair flowing under her crown and off her shoulders. Her white robes rippled along her body like a wind stirred river. Behind the queen, Alexa stood halfway through the door. Her fear of the unknown battling with her curiosity toward it.

"Even you could not call this young thing a Man, Artemis" Hippolyta walked to the child's bedside. "He is still very much a child"

This seemed to calm Artemis a bit, but she crossed her arms and scowled down at the boy. Hippolyta continued to watch the boy, an unreadable look on her face. While Alexa, who seemed to have gathered her courage enough to enter the room. She also watched the boy as he slept, a look of curiosity and inquiry on her face.

The child slept on, too exhausted from his ordeal to awake to notice such things.

Diana watched them watch the boy. She didn't make a sound for fear of breaking the silence that had fallen. A part of her was sure that as soon as someone said something, it would be an order to throw the boy back into the sea to drown, _she suddenly felt violently nauseous at the idea. _Her mother spoke, still quietly, with question, not anger in her voice.

"Where did you find him?" Diana let out a breath that she was holding. She then told her mother and her sisters the short and rather unexciting story of how she had found the child. By the time she had finished the story with the flight back, her mother had started to nod her head in thought. Alexa was mumbling quietly to herself about consulting her history books about great storms and lost sailors and something about Calypso. Artemis looked less angry but still annoyed. Like the boy's very presence made her dislike him.

Hippolyta seemed to have come to a decision. She turned to face Artemis and Alexa, though Diana knew that she was being addressed as well, "As soon as he is healed we will choose an ambassador to take him back to the mainlands." She turned back to Diana and gave her a meaningful look, though Diana did not quite understand what the meaning was. "This boy is under our care until he can be safely returned to the outside world." With that she walked out of the room. Artemis aimed another distrustful look toward the boy then followed the queen with a huff.

She looked back at the boy sleeping peacefully. For a moment neither her nor Alexa, who had stayed in the room, said anything. Diana broke the silence, "would bring me some salve for his skin please?" Alexa startled at the request, but then she smiled and said that she would. She left the room with a barely noticeable skip in her step, clutching her book to her chest. Obviously excited at the knowledge that could be gleaned from this new event.

Diana pulled a chair back to the bedside. She removed his over cloak and pulled the blankets over his fevered body. When she was done she brushed his damp bangs out from his eyes. He stirred at this, he shifted in his sleep and his eyes twitched in an attempt to open. Before settling down again. He muttered something under his breath, she almost didn't hear it, but Diana could just make it out.

"… where's… Bruce?" then he fell back into the bliss of sleep.

_**SAFEEVENINNIGHTMARES**_

Part 2 is on the way, so be patient. This time I promise I will just make them two parts and not mush them together like the last time, (that was a disaster wasn't it.)

OK so as for this season 3 thing I have planned. This is a simplified version of the episode guide that I am almost done with. I have almost the whole thing planned out, I just need some help writing the thing. When I say that I need help, I am looking for anyone that wants to help, it can be a lot of help or just once in a while. Once I get enough people interested I will start a private forum so we can discuss and brainstorm. I will offer "jobs" like writing specific scenes, beta reading, or just Brainstorming to anyone that wants to help.

The following is a rough episode guide, if you are interested in joining the story team please PM me so I can know who wants to help! Hope to hear from, well anyone really, soon. Until then,

So long, Farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu!


End file.
